Page 14 (1/2)

"A," she said with heavy sarcasm, her head cocked to the side "You’re still such a sweet-talker"

Feeling his blood heat to a dangerous, energy-stealing level, Cruen ripped his gaze from the female and turned back to face Feeyan "What of the other Pureblood? Has he professed his wish to remain as well?"

"Why is this any of your business?" Dillon continued brusquely "Why are you even here? Because we all know altruiss started to descend He should’ve drowned her when he’d had the chance "So the Order is now being run by not only its newest member, but a mutore" He spoke to Feeyan, and liked the flash of embarrassment and unease he saw in her eyes "How far we have fallen"

"Oh, that’s rich co from you," Dillon snapped back "You who created us"

This time, he did turn to look at her "Mistakes are part of any experi hand of the Orderyourself a mistake, huh, Pops? How rel" He sneered, but inside, the weight of his physical and emotional exhaustion threatened to fell him "What I did to myself, how I used my own flesh, ood of our race, to better our race My sacrifice makes me a hero But your birth will always make you trash"

"Fuck you"

"That’s quite enough," Feeyan interrupted smoothly

"Look how he speaks to a meive a shit about the Eternal Breed" Her eyes narrowed on Cruen "Do you have a personal reason for wanting us to infiltrate the Rain Forest shifters, Daddy Dipstick?"

Groeaker by the second, Cruen was doing his very best not to collapse, drop like a stone--his backside into the sand "Do you have a personal reason for keeping the Order out, rinned broadly "Shall we talk daughters?"

"Enough!" Feeyan cried, standing, her hands outstretched

Cruen eyeballed Dillon with new interest The mutore female clearly knew about his connection to Petra and the balas She knew Petra was his daughter But asn’t she revealing it? Why wasn’t she using it against him?

Why didn’t she want the Order to know about the relationship?

"Synjon Wise has not been in contact," Dillon told the others with forced cal above theer there?"

"He’s there But we haven’t been given access to hiiven?" Cruen repeated with a painfully forced laugh "A Pureblood is being held captive and the Order remains silent"

"He is not captive," Dillon returned hotly "He is there feeding his unborn balas"

Feeyan was silent for aincantations under her breath Exhausted, both a attention, showing his power He wondered why the new leader of the Order hadn’t developed her own tricks of the trade

When she opened her eyes again, they were a stark and shocking white, and her voice booht here, Dillon If what you say is true, they need only claian, looking more nervous than Cruen had ever seen her, "the veana is late in her swell"

"Flash does not impact swell in a Pureblood veana" Feeyan lifted her chin and added i you would know, is it?"

Dillon’s nostrils flared, and her jaent tight, but she said nothing

"You have twenty-four hours to bring them before me, or the Order will see this as a true Pureblood abduction, even an act of war by the shifter breed"

"Perhaps I can help this situation along," Cruen offered "Go with Dillon to speak to the shifters"

Feeyan turned her attention on him

"No way," Dillon said quickly before the leader could answer "I don’t want him there The shifters won’t want hi to do this with diplomacy"

"Don’t you think your presence there will cause more pushback?" Feeyan asked Cruen "Better to let the Order handle things"

"The Order," he began in a calm voice, "specifically one Order s and failed I care about the Purebloods held hostage not only because they are Eternal Breed but because one of them carries my blood"

The world around hihter, all of their eyes on him as they waited for him to reveal more For one moment it felt like old times to Cruen He was all-powerful Their leader He captured their attention and respect, then used it to further his cause

Perhaps he would have that again soh, he needed access, a valid reason, and a ride into the Rain Forest coaze connected only with Feeyan "The Pureblood veana in swell happens to be h his emotional pain and physical exhaustion, he lifted his chin and smiled "I will make sure she and the paven held captive are returned"

• • •